Grand Alliance leaders meet to quell workers’ infighting

Ranchi: The mahagathbandhan’s newly formed election coordination committee of constituents parties met in Ranchi on Thursday to chalk out campaigning and booth-management strategies for the Lok Sabha polls, which will begins on April 29 in Jharkhand. Representatives from Congress, JMM, JVM-P and RJD met on Thursday morning at the alliance’s common election war room, set up at JMM secretary Vinod Pandey’s residence. The committee has two representatives from each of the four parties. After the meeting, JVM-P spokesperson Yogendra Pratap Singh said: “District and booth-level committees will be set up at each constituency for better synergy among us. The scheduling of programmes of senior leaders and star campaigners were also discussed.” But more than preparing a joint strategy, the committee members deliberated on the ways to coax their respective party workers on the ground and alleviate their resentments. In several parliamentary constituencies, mahagathbandhan workers are fighting among themselves due to discontent over selection of candidates and the alliance’s seat-sharing arrangement. On April 5, Congress’s Singbhum candidate Geeta Koda faced hostilities from JMM workers and it’s MLA Shashi Bhushan Samad in Chakradharpur. Samad allegedly refused to meet Koda and locked himself in his house. Likewise in Godda, JVM-P and Congress workers are bickering over JVM-P MLA Pradeep Yadav’s candidature. Irked over the veteran politician Furqan Ansari being left out, Congress workers are reluctant to campaign for Yadav there. Similar hostilities persist between Congress and RJD workers in Chatra, where both have fielded candidates despite being in the alliance. The dissent between two camps is spreading to the neighbouring Palamu, where RJD candidate is backed by the mahagathbandhan. The infighting is ominous for the alliance’s poll prospects in both the seats. JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said: “The dissent is quite natural. Our supporters in Singbhum are unhappy because we have five MLAs there. We are trying to calm them by relaying what senior leaders of the alliance have told us, that we will have bigger share of pie in assembly elections later this year.” Singh was quick to defend the alliance. “Our alliance is in a much better state than BJP, where dropped leaders and ticket-seekers are contesting against BJP candidates. There are differences, but things are falling into place,” he said.

Rajesh Thakur, chairman of Congress’s state media unit, said: “All leaders are talking among themselves to appease workers. Things will smoothen out in a few days.” The discontent at ground level also exists in the BJP camp, particularly in Giridih, which has been given to Ajsu Party’s CP Choudhary and outgoing BJP MP, Ravindra Kumar Pandey’s supporters are not ready to support him.